Hi guys, with the recent announcement of the VKB-Sim Gunfighter, and other news and rumors about various VKB grips floating around, I thought it would be nice to collect a few of your questions and have them answered by VKB HQ. I tried to answer a lot of your questions via individual emails, but it might be nice to collect those frequently asked questions here as well for everyone to see.

So, go ahead and reply in this thread with your most burning questions, and once we have gathered a few, I will start to compile them into emails for VKB HQ to answer. Once I have answers, I will update this thread accordingly. Sounds good?

Thanks.

QUESTIONS SO FAR:

February 18, 2017:

Q: Will the Gunfighter new quick release only work for grips, or will it also work on the bottom of an extension (Gunfighter Pro) to quickly remove such extension?A: Yes, the extensions have the same quick release on the bottom.

Q: Will the Cobra M5 Grip adapter be available for both Gladiator Pro (MkI and Mk2) and Gunfighter? Any estimated date for it? A: Yes, they will be available sometime in March 2017.

Q: Are different extensions planned? E.g., 150mm, or 100mm? A: No, as the VKB-Sim extension is purposefully designed to include a specific curvature, and this curvature only works with a specific length (200mm). VKB is not offering any straight extensions at this time.

Q: Is the Quick Release option from the Gunfighter and Gladiator Pro Mk.II coming for new grips supporting the first generation of Gladiator Pros as well?A: Yes!

Q: Will there be a VKB-Sim adapter coming to mount the upcoming 'Kosmosima' grip, or the modern jet grip onto the TM Warthog base? A: Yes!

Q: Is the Gladiator Plus (Gladiator HOTAS with throttle built-in) still planned? A: Yes, but it is currently frozen due to other priorities.

Q: Info about the VKB TCS (Throttle Control System) and VKB modern-style grips?A: It's still a bit too early to get into details. Let's wait until the official announcement gets closer.

Q: What about a comprehensive ENG manual for the VKBDevCfg software?A: It's a rather elaborate process, and we are looking into options to do this; no ETA though.

Q: What VKB grips are in development for a future release?A: A modern jet style grip, and a spacesim grip; both offer a host of functions that we will discuss once we get closer to announcing them.

Q: Will there be a grip with twist axis for space simulations? A: We're looking into two options here - twist built into the grip (for the spacesim grip), and optional twist (via adapter that goes between the grip and the base) for the modern jet style grip.

Q: If there's a twist option, will this option be lockable with a sturdy, quality locking mechanism?A: That's the idea; however, nothing has been finalized at this stage.

Q: Will the modern jet style grip also come in a left/right-handed version (as it is planned with the spacesim grip)?A: Yes.

Q: Will the default Gunfighter KG12 plastic grip come in a left/right-handed version? A: No. Only a right-handed version.

Q: Will the space sim grip have a pinkie switch?A: Yes.

Q: Will the throttle be designed for space sim functionality - extra axes through a thumbstick or similar?A: The first VKB-Sim throttle to come out will be that of a WWII-style throttle; a later throttle might very well be based on a modern design. Extra axes might be provided by either, and/or built into the spacesim grip or modern jet grip.

Q: What is the order of development order is at this time. Are we expecting the "kosmos" grip to release first, or the modern stick? Where does the throttle fall in terms of order?A: We have different engineers working on the grips and throttle, and we can't really say who is going to finish their tasks first.

It has often been mentioned that accessory sticks will be made eventually for the gunfighter and possibly the gladiator... obviously I don't expect anything to be solid until it's officially announced, but what sort of accessory stick ideas ar floating about?

I mostly ask because I'm curious, however, it's often mentioned as a selling point, so it would be nice to know at least what kind of ideas VKB has for which sticks they are even considering to produce.

Well it would be really nice to know if the gunfighter will get a twist grip, a modern grip and a lefty grip. There are several of us Spacesimmers that really want our buttons and twists. If I could get any confirmation that these are coming I'd probably try to get a gunfighter as soon as possible.

I know the answer to two of your questions: 1) a modern grip based on a modern jet fighter is in the works, but also a spacesim grip (which is a different design). 2) Yes the spacesim grip will get left/right-handed versions. I don't have an ETA on those releases, however, they will be adaptable for the Gunfighter.

2) When the various modular grips come out, will there be fresh runs of the Gunfighter itself if you're running low on stock, so we can be guaranteed of being able to buy both at once? Or, if we're only interested in a certain grip, should we (could we) just buy the base, and later buy the grip to plug into it? (ie. if I'm only interested in the space sim grip, should I be pre-ordering a Gunfighter now, so as to be guaranteed of having something for my grip to plug into?

3) Will the throttle be designed for space sim functionality - extra axes through a thumbstick (whether it's somewhere the thumb can access or under a finger notwithstanding) or something, lots'o'buttons, stuff like that?

4) If there's not going to be a space sim grip with twist axis, will the throttle have an extra axis for that? (It could be used for radiator control or similar on WWII sims) For example, the recent Thrustmaster TWCS has four axes, one for the throttle, two for the thumbstick-a-finger-uses, and one for a paddle... thing, that can be used instead of twist axis on the stick or a set of pedals.

EDIT: 5) Just generally, what audience is the throttle targeted at? WWII? Modern? Space? Will it be suitable for people outside of the target audience? How soon can I replace my becoming-spiky CH Pro Throttle with something with MaRs sensors?

Last edited by RecklessPrudence on Tue Jan 10, 2017 12:59, edited 1 time in total.

RecklessPrudence wrote:2) When the various modular grips come out, will there be fresh runs of the Gunfighter itself if you're running low on stock, so we can be guaranteed of being able to buy both at once? Or, if we're only interested in a certain grip, should we (could we) just buy the base, and later buy the grip to plug into it? (ie. if I'm only interested in the space sim grip, should I be pre-ordering a Gunfighter now, so as to be guaranteed of having something for my grip to plug into?

You should get the Gunfighter and then later use the grips you like as VKB makes them available. The goal is to not think of the Gunfighter as a stick that comes with a limited initial grip, but as a solid (rather awesome) base to add more functionality later via the various grips that will come out.

The other questions I added to the first post so I can send them to VKB HQ once I have a few more...

Here's a vote against twist on the space SIM grip. I want the highest accuracy and do not want to worry about subtle twists in the stick throwing off my precision using the stick. Unless there is there a a solid, quality feeling locking mechanism, I'd pay extra to NOT have a twist function. If people want twist, maybe that would be best as some type of adapter that can be placed between the grip and base. There's already an extender, so it may be possible to simply have a twist attachment that adds functionality.

This probably isn't the place for this discussion but as someone who dearly wants twist I would have no issue with the twist being a module placed between the base and the stick. Having the twist lockable with some type of mechanism or bolt would not be an issue either.

rrohde wrote:You should get the Gunfighter and then later use the grips you like as VKB makes them available. The goal is to not think of the Gunfighter as a stick that comes with a limited initial grip, but as a solid (rather awesome) base to add more functionality later via the various grips that will come out.

The other questions I added to the first post so I can send them to VKB HQ once I have a few more...

The main reason I was asking is because while I can absolutely guarantee I will have the money to buy a Gunfighter by early March, the chances of me having said cash anytime before that is very low, due to family commitments. So I'm worried about what will happen if you guys sell out of Gunfighters before I have the money to buy one... I'm sure there will be more than one run of them, but if the second run does not occur until after the Kosmosimov grip is released and possibly sells out...